Here are some of the most common questions people have already asked about Putting People First. If they don't answer your query please don't hesitate to contact the Self Directed Support team.

1. What is Putting People First?
2. What is personalisation?
3. What do you mean by Self Directed Support (SDS)?
4. What do you mean by Personal Budget?
5. I keep hearing about individual budgets. What is the difference between that and a Personal Budget?
6. What is included in my Personal Budget?
7. Who can get a Personal Budget?
8. How will I sort out everything to do with my Personal Budget?
9. What help is out there to manage my own Personal Budget?
10. What is support brokerage?
11. How will we find the Personal Assistant (PA) to support us?
12. How can I spend the budget I get?
13. When will Personal Budgets be available in Nottinghamshire?

1. What is Putting People First?

Putting People First sets the future direction for adult social care for the next 10 years and more.

It means:

• people who use social care services having more choice and control in their life
• better support for carers
• making sure the right help is provided at the right time before people reach crisis point
• people who use social care services knowing how much they will have to spend on support through a Personal Budget
• support that is tailor-made to meet needs
• a range of excellent, quality services provided by highly skilled staff
• easy access to information, advice, support and advocacy.

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2. What is personalisation?

Personalisation means starting with the individual as a person with strengths, needs and preferences. It is about the idea that the individual is best placed to know what they need and how those needs can be best met. Personalisation recognises that with the right support, advice and information people can often make their own decisions about what they require to meet their needs and to achieve their goals. One example of personalisation is Self Directed Support (SDS).

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3. What do you mean by Self Directed Support (SDS)?

Self Directed Support is a way that people who are eligible for social care can have more choice and control over their support, in the most appropriate setting for them. People have more choice and control through a Personal Budget. There are 7 steps to Self Directed Support which you can see by visiting www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/sdssevenstepsnov08.pdf

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4. What do you mean by Personal Budget?

A Personal Budget is the amount of money given to a person who is eligible for social care. This will mean that for the first time people will know exactly how much their support is going to cost and will be offered different ways in which they can manage their Personal Budget. A Personal Budget will give people more choice and control over how their budget is spent.

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5. I keep hearing about individual budgets. What is the difference between that and a Personal Budget?

An individual budget is the same as a Personal Budget, but also includes other sources of funding. The government tested individual budgets in 13 Local Authorities and the funding included:

• social care
• equipment
• Disabled Facility Grants (e.g. large adaptations)
• Supporting People (support with housing)
• Access to work
• Independent Living Fund.

But, to be honest, the pilots only had limited success in bringing all the funding into one pot of money.

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6. What is included in my Personal Budget?

For the time being the Personal Budget will only include social care funding. But we will be working closely with other funding sources such as Independent Living Fund and Supporting People to make sure that people get everything they are entitled to. We will be working on how we can move towards one pot of money, but that will take time.

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7. Who can get a Personal Budget?

People who are eligible for adult social care funding can get a Personal Budget. To work out how much funding people need, we will work with them and fill out an assessment questionnaire together. The questionnaire will look at a person’s day-to-day needs. It will also ask people to start to think about how their life could be in the future with the right support. We call this looking at ‘outcomes’.

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8. How will I sort out everything to do with my Personal Budget?

It will be up to each individual to decide how much or how little control they want over their Personal Budget. Some people will still want the Local Authority to buy the support and look after the money. That is okay. Others might want to direct how their money is spent, but not have to manage the budget, and there will be advice available about organisations who can manage the budget on a person’s behalf. And there will be people who want to take complete control over their budget and manage and arrange their own support. Managing a budget through a cash payment is called a Direct Payment.

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9. What help is out there to manage my own Personal Budget?

Right now, you can get help with things from a Direct Payment Support Service called Rowan – visit their website at www.therowan.org They can help with sorting out things such as:

• finding a personal assistant
• payroll for people who have a direct payment.

We are looking at developing more services to help people manage their own Personal Budgets – so watch this space. Often this is called support brokerage.

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10. What is support brokerage?

It is about the help some people will need to work out:

• what their choices are
• what support or care is right for them and
• where to buy the services or activity.

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11. How will we find the Personal Assistant (PA) to support us?

Firstly, people receiving support do not have to become employers. But if a PA is right for them and their circumstances, the person can advertise and recruit their own PA. If they need support with this, then they get help from Rowan, the Direct Payments Support Service.

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12. How can I spend the budget I get?

We are looking to offer guidance about this, but how people will spend their budget and what they will want to buy will be as varied as the individuals themselves.

Broadly, we know that what the person chooses to buy must:

• meet their agreed needs and outcomes
• be safe and legal
• be affordable.

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13. When will Personal Budgets be available in Nottinghamshire?

Personal Budgets will be given in Nottinghamshire from October 2010.  In the meantime we are running small trials for Personal Budgets - if you are interested in finding out more, please contact the Self Directed Support team.

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